Jacqueline T. Dyer, PhD, MSW, LICSW, brings more than 30 years of social work practice, community leadership, and academic innovation to her work advancing social justice in both clinical and educational settings as Program Director and Associate Professor of Practice of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) Program at Simmons University, Boston, in one of the largest DSW programs in the country.
Dr. Dyer is the originator of the DEIPAR framework — a social justice model grounded in diversity, equity, inclusion, intersectionality, power analysis, and antiracism. Developed to give doctoral students a structured, culturally relevant lens for applying social justice principles to real-world practice, DEIPAR is embedded across the program's full 15-course curriculum, serving as both a pedagogical foundation and a practice assessment tool. She is also lead co-editor of Infusing Social Justice into Social Science Practice, a textbook shaping how the next generation of practitioners understands and applies social justice frameworks — in which she contributes a chapter expanding on the DEIPAR model.
Beginning in community outreach and advocacy, Dr. Dyer built, and continues to maintain, a private practice alongside leadership roles in community programs before moving into higher education, where she has taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and in the social work programs at Eastern Nazarene College, Wheelock College, and Salem State University. She presents professionally and in the community on the intersections of mental health and faith. She tells people she was born a social worker and loves to teach.
Education
- PhD, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work
- MSW, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work
- BA, Wellesley College
Area of Expertise
Leadership development, Integration of faith and mental health
Licenses/Certifications
- Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (MA)
- Trained in Spiritual Direction
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
- Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE)
- North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW)
Courses
- Developed: DSW Foundations, Adaptive Leadership: Implementing Leadership Through Social Justice Lens, Capstone
- Taught: Advanced Practice, Integrative Seminar, and Leadership courses
Community Engagement
- Dr. Dyer serves as Vice Chair of the Board for Amirah, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals seeking freedom from exploitation.
- Mentor for the Doctoral Fellows in the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Minority Fellowship Program (MFP)
- Member of the CSWE Council on Leadership Development
- Prior service includes clinical supervision in both secular and Christian agencies, and a volunteer facilitator for a Christian domestic violence support group.
Research and Special Projects
Dr. Dyer's research and scholarly interests are connected to her community work in faith contexts and with church leadership. She has researched clergy compassion fatigue, the intersections of intimate partner violence and faith. She also has a growing interest in the impact of historical trauma in communities of color, particularly those of African descent.
Publications
- Dyer, J. (2026). DEIPAR (dee-per) Supervision: Leadership and Power-sharing. In N. Currie (Ed.), Decolonized Clinical Supervision and Leadership: A Social Work Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
- Dyer, J. & Ware, L. K. (2025). Religion & Spirituality, Culture and Entheogens (Psychedelics). In C. Rodgers (Ed.), Public Health, Drugs, and Culture, Kendall Hunt Publishing.
- Dyer, J. & Flores-Carter, K. (2024). Infusing Social Justice into Social Science Practice. Kendall Hunt Publishers.
- Dyer, J. (2020). Historical Trauma to Shalom. In Vince Bantu (Ed.), Gospel Haymanot. Chicago, IL: Urban Ministries Publishing.
- Dyer, J. (2016). Just social work? Collaborating with African American clergy to address intimate partner violence in churches. Christianity & Social Work, 43(4), 32-54.
- Dyer, J. (2010). Challenging assumptions: Clergy perspectives and practices regarding intimate partner violence. Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work, 29(1), 33-48. DOI: 10.1080/15426430903479254.
Jacqueline Dyer in the News
Two Simmons Faculty Members Receive North Star Fellowships
Samuel Odom from the School of Social Work and Don Simmons from the School of Library and Information Science, have been named fellows by the North Star Collective Faculty Fellowship, which is designed to promote supportive community and racial healing for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) faculty members across New England.
Shout-outs from Students and Alums
Integrating Forest Spirituality into a Social Work Mindset
Grant Pike ’18MSW ’24DSW shares how the vitality of nature can be combined with social work and social justice, with a positive impact on humans and the planet.